50 Beautiful Swimming Pool Designs

A Pool Design for Every Yard

There's a swimming pool for every outdoor space–even long, narrow side yards or smack-dab-in-the-middle courtyards. From sleek, modern masterpieces to Mediterranean escapes to private waterparks to natural pools, we've found every size, style, design, and type of pool you can imagine. Dive in and be dazzled.

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Historic Tropical Beauty

A historic, circa-1850 home was restored and received a few new additions, like a pool house and carport. Bender & Associates Architects designed a pool that is appropriate for the period and design of the house, enhancing rather than overpowering the property. Lush tropical landscaping makes this a home that looks like an island retreat.

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Fun Desert Hardscaping

Bill Timmerman

A rectangular 33-by-14-foot pool comes alive with landscaping designed by Ibarra Rosano, including giant concrete balls by Holler & Saunders of Nogales, Arizona.

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Green Roof Pool House

A modern backyard by Murray Legge Architecture of Austin, Texas includes a pool house with a roof featuring grasses, sedges, and wildflowers native to Central Texas. Mortarless cut Leuders limestone on steel was used for the pool decking, while Bisazza mosaic glass tile covers the pool interior. Stools inside the pool were formed with tubes and gunite.

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Family Fun Pool

A waterpark-like experience with an elegant design that will appeal to all ages is what Pool Environments of Dallas came up with for this entertaining backyard in Texas. The pool features stones, waterfalls and features, islands, colorful landscaping, and inviting artistic elements.

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Key West

Tamara Alvarez

When in Key West, Florida, go with the natural landscape and make it tropical. Craig Reynolds Landscape Architecture used Pebble Tec in Caribbean Blue for the surfacing, while a natural coral stone in a herringbone pattern was used for the pool deck and paving.

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River View

A lap pool at a private residence in Greenwich, New York overlooks a river. Designed by Austin Patterson Disston Architects, the long pool was built to take in the view and is surrounded by Connecticut stone.

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Moonlight Swim

A sleek, modern small swimming pool by Pool Environments of Dallas is illuminated to coax its owners for a midnight swim. The side corner wall is raised to the level of the patio for a natural transition from house to pool.

L-Shaped Luxury

"Floating" pavers and a sculptural fountain in a small L-shaped pool in Texas add interest and continue the materials and lines of the surrounding patio in this design by Pool Environments. Fountains and vivid lighting make the pool a focal point.

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Plantation Pool

A tropical plantation in Brisbane, Australia integrates indoor-outdoor living with wood decking that leads to a pool you can easily jump in and out of. Designed by Skale, the pool is situated in a private courtyard and offers breathtaking views of Noosa, on Queensland's Sunshine Coast.

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Palm Springs Living

Michael Utterback

The pool of this stunning Midcentury modern home originally designed by famed Modernist architect William Krisel is on view from pretty much every room. Preserving the home's architectural significance and integrity was key to Studio AR&D Architects' renovation and restoration. The home represents the Palm Springs lifestyle that blends leisure and refinement, with a seamless connection between architecture and landscape that has become associated with modern desert and California design.

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Old Naples Beach Home

At a Naples, Florida house, 41 West created a pool with a natural pebble finish to accentuate the clear water reflecting the sky, especially when it's pure blue. With the hot Florida sun in mind, the decking is made of cement pavers set in sand so bare feet won't get burned.

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Bologna Farmhouse Pool

Olimpia Lalli

A terraced hill in Bologna, Spain is a private spot for late-afternoon swims with views of the Mediterranean landscape. Designed by Deposito Creativo, Villa Privato Bertinoro features a farmhouse with places to relax and enjoy the scenery when not working.

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Walk the Straight and Narrow

A nearly 16-foot-high living/dining area opens on three sides, one on the west to a lap pool that is a focal point at night when illuminated. Designed by EYRC Architects, natural vs. technical and rough vs. smooth is played out in materials throughout this Venice, California house.

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Skyward

Jim Peasey Photography

A West Hollywood home gained vertical space and spectacular views in this remodel by Los Angeles-based firm (fer) Studio. The kidney-shaped pool was redesigned with glass mosaic tile and includes a spa and shallow wading pool for lounge furniture.

Modern Cabana and Pool

A remodel included a pool cabana that replaced an old enclosed back house and a pool with an architectural fountain feature and oversized plant containers. This was a team project that included Key Residential, Pool Environments, Jason Osterberger Designs, and Randy Angell Designs. The cabana includes outdoor ceiling fans and heaters, a built-in mosquito spray system, a fully equipped outdoor kitchen with a linear fireplace and hearth that extends to the pool fountain.

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Lively Alexander

A Midcentury modern Alexander home in Palm Springs designed by Palmer & Krisel retained the original look and vibe but received some contemporary updates, like an integrated spa, ground-level fire pit, and a mosaic outdoor shower. H3K incorporated clever features like "moats" of grass between concrete slabs and choosing era-appropriate furnishings, like the pagoda California Umbrellas, CB2 chairs, and Surya pillows.

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Australian Infinity

A timber- and steel-framed pavilion (pergola) connects the house to the infinity pool in this Brisbane, Australia project by Skale Design. The pool surfaces are finished with a pebble pool plaster finish.

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French Countryside Style

LAIR Architectural + Interior Photography

The homeowners wanted a French countryside look for their Dallas home. Pool Environments designed a curvilinear pool that includes a small extended wet deck and fountain with a stone waterfall feature. The project, spearheaded by Key Residential, includes Pennsylvania Bluestone pavers surrounding the pool, with artificial turf grass in place of mortar or pebbles.

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Inside, Looking Out

Swimming is one of the best forms of exercise and there is no need to stop when the temperatures drop. EB Mahoney built an enclosed room for a lap pool in a modern Philadelphia home, next to a wall with windows for an experience that is closest to nature.

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Reflecting Pool

A clean, classic rectangular pool with bullnose bluestone coping and a carpet of green grass that rolls right up to the water's edge was designed by Thomas Flint Landscape Design & Development for a large property in Ridgewood, New Jersey.

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Beach Entry

Proving that not all pools are geometric, this curvy design by Absolutely Outdoors in Houston is a pool for cooling off, exercising, and soaking in the bubbly spa at night—kind of a something-for-everyone situation. And if you want, you can just kick back and enjoy those fountains.

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Sussex Swimming Pond

Is it a natural pool or pond? Amanda Patton Landscape & Garden Design created a swimming pond, with the pool located in the deeper section, while the shallow area houses a planted filtration zone. Patton says one of the pros of a swimming pond is that it looks good throughout the year and doesn't need to be covered during the winter ​since it's a pond.​

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Raised Pool

Nicholas Watt

An elevated lap pool by Secret Gardens in Sydney, Australia is built of hardwood and concrete, with Ophiopogon Japonicus running the length of the pool.

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Big Boulders

To anchor those large granite boulders, The Landmark Group built raised pillars and benches while pouring concrete to accommodate the big rocks. Large pieces of flagstone quarried from local limestone were used for the pool decking, separated by 1-inch polymeric joints. Since the pool is in Toronto, Canada, it's drained during the winterizing process.

Stone Pool

An existing land depression (dip) on a Vermont mountaintop was an ideal spot for Shepard Butler Landscape Architecture to build a pool that becomes part of the land. SBLA used local stone slabs and stacked them on the south end for a raised sunbathing platform. Stone steps lead to a niche with stone benches and an integrated fire pit. A stone waterfall, sculpture, and dive stone continue the natural look.

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San Antonio Freeform

Mediterranean influences are evident in this freeform pool designed by Lewis Aquatech of Chantilly, Virginia. Among them: the use of flagstone, earth tones, accents of bright colors, shaded seating, and an outdoor dining area.

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Austin Estate

A Mediterranean landscape in Austin, Texas was achieved by Brad Sharpe Pools by building a lap pool under mature trees. Sharpe recommends that lap pools should be a minimum of 34 feet in length. The interior finish is Turtle Bay Pebble Sheen by Pebble Tec.

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Blending Into the Landscape

For a backyard pool in the Washington DC metro area, Poole's Stone and Garden used a pebble pool finish on the surfaces, then integrated stone and natural materials, for a look that blends with the natural surroundings.

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Chestnut Hill Reflection Pool

A steel-reinforced pool features gunite construction and a gray marble plaster interior finish. Designed by Armond Architects, the regeneration area was built with a liner which is finished with river rock.

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Reclaimed Materials

They say the greenest building is the one already built; the same could be said for existing materials. Stone Farm ​in Connecticut uses reclaimed curbing and accent pieces as coping for swimming pools and outdoor features for a unique, one-of-a-kind look and feel.

Melbourne Mediterranean

This elegant backyard design actually includes a pool barrier, which is required by law in Victoria, Australia. Each glass panel is held in place by a custom-fabricated stainless steel "clamp." The project, from Design Unity, allows unobstructed views of the pool and yard, and from the pool to the house and surroundings. The pool was resurfaced with royal blue Quartzon. Sealed sandstone pavers for decking are cool to walk on when Noosa temperatures rise.

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Urban Retreat

Indiana limestone surrounds a Mediterranean-style swimming pool with integrated spa in the yard of a home in the Chicago suburb of Glenview. Designed by Rosebrook Custom Pools, the private outdoor space includes a vine-covered pergola and pool house.

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LA Petite Pool

This beautiful Spanish bungalow in Los Angeles' Atwater Village features a small pool with hand-painted tiles and a fountain that make it appear larger. Designed by landscape architect Lisa Gimmy and Koffka/Phakos Design, the space includes additional seating inside the pool if you don't mind getting wet.

Wine Country Escape

One of the many California dreams: to live in a vineyard. This property near Yountville, California features a Craftsman style house with Mediterranean landscaping by Roche+Roche, with Kennedy & Kennedy Architects, and Le Reve interior design. Bluestone pool decking features brick-inset "carpets" and a custom-tiled spa was designed by the owner and Metolius Ridge.

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Rocks and Boulders

Spring Creek

More than 200 tons of boulders were used to create the waterfalls of this natural looking pool in Lodi, California. Liquid FX Pools built pathways, caves, and a 30-foot-long tube slide into the stunning water feature.

Freeform Infinity

Design Ecology created an infinity pool that looks over Lake Austin features a sunken kitchen at the water level, along with a private spa.

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Italianate Pool

Jack Coyier

This one-acre property in California created by EPTDESIGN in the Italianate style features a landscape that is formal and also many playful elements, like fountains, urns, sculpture, and an armillary (sphere).